Role reversal
by evaernst
Summary: Prompt from Ceil. Miss P returns injured from one of her lookouts. The children have to work together to care for their ymbryne. At the same time new trouble is in store for them that could possible threaten their loop and their lives.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! I am back with another story. Thank you Ceil for the idea!**

 **Please tell me what you think!**

It was the 3rd of September 1943. Like every day. Miss Peregrine's children were playing in the garden outside while their headmistress had left the island for one of her regular look outs. In those times she gathered news from the outside world and also kept her eyes open for new charges but she was always very careful not to stay away for long. She knew her mischievous charges all too well and she knew what horrible things could happen when she was gone too long. But for now the children were playing more or less peacefully.

Hugh and Millard were playing football while Horace had been persuaded to be the referee. Emma was sitting underneath a large tree reading a book while Olive and Enoch were tending Enoch's dolls that had been destroyed in the last initiated fight. The younger children were having a tea party. They were sitting on a blanket in the grass trying to be as graceful as they possibly could. Right now Claire was pouring invisible tea into the twins' cups. They squawked their thanks and Claire smiled satisfied that everyone was playing along so well. After everyone had their 'tea' Claire turned around to look at the sky.

"Claire, what's wrong?" Bronwyn asked and took a sip from her cup.

"When will Miss P return? She's been gone for a long time now, hasn't she?" Claire answered unable to keep the worry out of her voice.

Simultaneously all children looked into the sky but there was no peregrine falcon to be seen. Suddenly the twins screeched loudly and pointed at a small dot in the sky.

"Miss P!" Claire squealed happily. The older children had become aware of the return of their ymbryne as well. Slowly they stood up using their hands to shield their eyes from the blinding sun as they were watching the bird fly nearer. As the dot in the sky grew bigger and bigger it became clearer that something wasn't right.

"Oh" Olive whispered and grabbed Enoch's hand. Emma quickly made her way over to the younger children. Claire looked at the bird with frightful eyes.

"What is wrong with her?" Claire asked with a small voice. Emma quickly pulled the little girl closer to her. The twins and Bronwyn joined the hug.

The falcon in the sky was obviously having trouble staying in the air. One wing stuck off in a strange angle and was unable to properly support the other wing.

"What is she doing? She's flying right into the tree!" Olive screamed and quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

The blue and black bird crashed right into the tree and fell down like a stone. Enoch sprinted towards the tree and with one last desperate jump he managed to catch the bird in the last second before it hit the ground. At this point the younger children were crying holding onto Emma tightly.

Emma tried to shield the view of the young ones from the sight of Enoch cradling their beloved headmistress in his arms. Carefully he moved the hardly conscious bird in his arms to check her for other injuries apart from the obviously hurt wing. There were several cuts on her body and blood stuck on her beautiful plumage. There were feathers missing from her wings and also there were some of her tailfeathers bend in an unnatural way.

The bird screeched in pain and Enoch stopped moving her and instead held her close. He bent his head until his mouth was near the bird's head and whispered "Shh, everything is going to be alright. We will look after you."

Then he looked at Emma and Olive. "We need to get her into the house and tend to those ugly cuts. To be honest I am not an expert on birds but as she cannot return to her human form until she is a bit better we'll have to do it this way."

Then he quickly marched towards the back door of their beautiful home and the others followed him. As Enoch looked down at the beautiful but hurt bird in his arms he realized for the first time that he was truly carrying their headmistress in his arms and that he as the oldest one was now in charge as long as Miss Peregrine was not able to fulfill her role as their leading figure.

He went into the parlor and carefully placed Miss P on one of many soft pillows and placed the pillow on the table. Even the smallest movements seemed to hurt the ymbryne immensely. Enoch could hear that she tried to suppress the noises that gave away in how much pain she was but the way she flinched gave it away anyway. Enoch sat down on a chair and looked at the bird in a desperate and helpless way.

"Oh, Miss P. How am I going to help you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the feedback to the first chapter! Your feedback keeps me going!**

Suddenly the doors of the parlor opened and Emma and Olive entered.

"Where are the others?" Enoch asked hoping the younger ones wouldn't storm in in the next couple of seconds.

"We told them to wait outside. They didn't like it at all as you can imagine. They are very worried." Olive answered.

"And so are we" Emma added. "What is wrong with her? What happened to her?"

Enoch shrugged and shook his head. "There are many possibilities. The world outside is dangerous. Maybe she had an unpleasant encounter with a hollow?"

Olive and Emma didn't look convinced. To be honest Enoch didn't believe this version himself either. A hollow would have probably killed their headmistress even though she was the most fierce lady on the planet. The three looked at Miss Peregrine as if they were expecting her to explain what had happened but of course she couldn't. The bird was shaking slightly as if she was cold. The pillow underneath her had already red blood stains although she had barely lain there for more than a couple of minutes. Olive grabbed a small blanket from a tiny cupboard and wrapped it around the injured bird.

"What are we going to do?" Olive asked helplessly. Her face showed exactly how desperate she felt without Miss Peregrine to guide their actions.

"We are going to help her of course! We will look after her and soon she will be well enough to turn back into a human and tell us what to do!" Emma answered as if it was the easiest and most obvious thing in the world. Only that it wasn't.

"Oh really? Did I miss out on your graduation as a doctor? If you know so well what to do, be my guest, go ahead! What are you waiting for?" Enoch asked slightly annoyed and rolled his eyes. Sometimes he did not understand Emma's way of thinking.

"Well, it's better than what you were obviously planning. Sitting around and doing nothing will do her no good either!" Emma answered angrily. Her eyes shone with suppressed anger and her hands were balled together in fists.

"I was not going to do that! I was going to think about what to do rationally. I, in contrast to you, do not act impulsively without thinking straight! You could hurt her more with your irresponsible-"

"Quiet, both of you!" Olive interrupted them in a stern voice that was very unlike her. Enoch and Emma looked at her with big eyes. "Look, what your stupid fighting is doing to her!"

Emma and Enoch now looked at the bird again. She was shaking more violently now cooing quietly as if to stop them from fighting.

"Enoch is right, Emma. We have to think about what to do first and we mustn't fight. Miss P is probably scared too. We have to show her that we have everything under control" Olive said. Enoch and Emma looked at her in disbelieve. They had nothing under control. But then they got it. For calming Miss P they didn't necessarily need to have everything under control. It was enough that she believed so.

Olive went down on her knees so that she was eye to eye with Miss Peregrine. Without applying any pressure Olive carefully lifted the blanket and let her index finger run down her soft belly careful not go against the direction of growth of her feathers. "Everything is going to be alright, Miss P. You can trust us, we have everything under control." Miss P slowly bent her neck and rubbed her head against Olive's hand.

"First of all, we have to clean those cuts. I will get what we need" Enoch said and stood up. He looked at Emma expecting her to disagree but she nodded.

"Please hurry" was the only thing that Emma said. Enoch nodded and quickly left the parlor. But he didn't expect to be almost suffocated by nine pairs of arms wrapping around him and basically a million questions to be thrown at his head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello out there! I hope you enjoy chapter 3. I try to update every two days.**

 **I would be very happy to hear your opinion on the story!**

"Where is Miss P?"

"Will she be alright?"

"Is she going to die?"

"When will she return to her human form?"

"What happened to her?"

For a moment Enoch was overwhelmed by the questions of his younger siblings. Then he crouched down to be eye to eye with them. The twins where holding each other's hands to comfort each other. Claire and Bronwyn where doing the same. Their eyes where beyond scared. The older ones looked worried as well. Hugh was wearing his net that he normally only wore during dinner because when he was worried he was not able to control the bees in his stomach as he normally could and they were suddenly flying everywhere. Horace had his arms wrapped around a book that Enoch noticed to be a book on birds. Of course it was impossible to see Millard's facial expression but judging from the way the brown suit was pacing up and down the room Millard was beyond worried as well.

This had never happened before. Of course this was not the first time the loop was struck with unexpected and horrible happenings but up to this point there had always been Miss P to comfort and guide them. It had never been her who had needed help. All the children had learned to see her as almost invincible and seeing their headmistress stuck in her bird form hurt and broken had shattered their picture of Miss Peregrine.

They of course all knew the story of Miss P's sister ymbryne who had been hit by a speeding truck. They of course knew that ymbrynes were only humans as well but their perception was understandably a different one.

"Please, don't worry, everything is going to be fine. We don't know what happened. Right now we have to tend to her injuries and very soon she's going to be fine again, alright?" Enoch said trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"But Enoch, what happens to our loop?" Little Claire asked. She was pressing her stuffed elephant against her chest. Miss P had given the toy to Claire when she had been a toddler. In fact every child had been given a different stuffed animal no matter how old they were when they joined the peculiar family.

Enoch looked at Claire questionably. "What's supposed to happen to our loop?"

"If Miss P is not back to her human form in four hours she cannot reset the loop and the whole house will burn to the ground." Millard answered before Claire could. Hearing the horrible truth made the youngest children start crying and the twins howling in fear.

"Ssh, don't cry. We will find a solution." Enoch answered. His face looked significantly paler. He had not thought as far as this. The loop. What were they going to do about the loop?

He could feel the eyes of every child staring at him expecting a solution. Horace cleared his throat.

"May I suggest a solution?"

Enoch looked at his brother expectantly. "We need the help of another ymbryne, so much is obvious. Why don't we call Miss Avocet? She's the nearest ymbryne around."

Enoch considered the idea for a moment but as he did not have another idea they would probably have to go with Horace's plan. "Alright. Look into Miss P's telephone directory and call her. Tell her we do not have much time."

Horace nodded and quickly left the room towards Miss P's study. Enoch turned towards the younger children again. Normally he was not the most empathetic person around but he had a soft spot for his younger siblings. They were looking for comfort with him and he felt the pressure of fulfilling this role resting heavily on his shoulders. How did Miss P manage all this every day?

"See, we found a solution. If we work together we will find a solution for everything, alright?"

The young ones nodded. Their tears had dried leaving tears stains on their cheeks but their eyes showed how scared they still were. Enoch hesitated a moment before opening his arms wide inviting his siblings to a hug. Gratefully his younger siblings snuggled against him letting them be comforted by their big brother.

After a couple of minutes Enoch withdrew. He squeezed Claire and Bronwyn's hand.

"Okay, now I need to help Miss P so that she's going to be better soon."

Unbeknownst to them new trouble was on the way-much more trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for your feedback! I am always beyond happy to hear your opinion. Your feedback encourages me to continue writing stories like this.**

 **I hope you all enjoy chapter 4!**

Quickly Enoch went to the cellar to get all the equipment that could be used as medical devices. On his way back to the parlor he checked on Horace. Horace luckily had gotten through to Miss Avocet who after hearing what had happened immediately agreed to come as soon as she could. Fortunately, this problem was solved. At least if she arrived soon enough.

Then he made his way back into the parlor followed by the worried but still curious eyes of his younger siblings. They didn't like being forced to wait outside without being able to do anything to help their beloved headmistress.

As soon as he entered Emma and Olive looked at him questionably. He had been gone longer than they had expected. Enoch quickly apologized and explained what had happened. He moved over to Olive who was cradling a still shivering Miss Peregrine in her arms.

"Don't worry, Miss P. Miss Avocet will come and she will reset our loop. You don't need to worry, we have everything under control."

Of course, he could have imagined it but Miss Peregrine looked relieved. At least as relieved as a bird could look.

"Alright, now we need to clean those cuts." Enoch said trying to hide his nervousness. Of course he was constantly patching up his dolls but they were dead things. Whatever he did to them didn't hurt them. He could practice stitching and cutting without any consequences. But helping a living being that was still breathing and had a beating heart inside the chest was a totally different story. Every time his needle would pierce her flesh she would be in pain. He knew nothing about anesthetics and especially not how they affect birds.

"Maybe we can wait until Miss Avocet is here?" Olive asked insecurely sensing that Enoch was not totally sure what he was doing. "She will know how to help Miss Peregrine in the best possible way."

Emma looked at her angrily. "I think we just agreed on not wasting time"

"I know but-"

"But what?"

"We have no way of reducing the pain she is in. Cleaning and stitching the cuts will hurt especially without anesthetics." Olive expressed what Enoch was thinking as well.

Enoch nodded to show her that he knew what she was talking about.

"Maybe we don't have a choice" Emma answered. The blanket Miss P was wrapped in had already bright red tear stains on it. "She's still bleeding. She's losing too much blood."

Emma and Olive looked at Enoch as to ask him whether he was ready to start. He took a deep breath. Normally he would never express self-doubt to anyone else (except maybe to Miss Peregrine) but considering that there was more at stake than his ego he decided to make an exception.

"I am not a doctor, I cannot promise that I won't do any mistakes. Maybe we should go to the village. There has to be vet there. We could ask him."

"Enoch, first of all this will take time we don't have, secondly you have more experience than any vet could possible gather throughout his entire career and third of all this is too dangerous. What if something goes wrong with the villagers? This time Miss P is not able to just kill a troublesome police officer."

"I have a lot of experience on dead things, yes. To be honest, I have never patched up a living individual before. Miss P has tended to all injuries before. All I ever did was play Frankenstein with my personal monsters in the basement. I am sure no one wants her to end like Frankenstein's monster." Enoch answered a bit bitterly.

"Enoch, you can do it, I know that." Olive said encouragingly. Miss Peregrine had obviously gathered all of her strength and moved so that she could touch Enoch's arm with her good wing. Like a human would she was slightly moving her wing against his skin in a comforting motion. Enoch smiled at her. Her eyes seemed to say _Don't be scared. I know you can do it, you are my boy after all!_ _Don't worry about me, I've been through worse_. This meant more to him than everything the other two could ever say to him. He just hoped he did interpret her actions correctly. Time to find out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everybody out there! I hope you all enjoy chapter 5.**

 **I would like to hand over a virtual cookie to everyone who favorited and/or reviewed! To see that people actually read and like what I write means a lot to me.**

Meanwhile there was new trouble coming closer. Millard and Hugh watched hidden behind heavy white curtains how a police officer and the owner of the local pub marched towards the house.

"Oh, oh" sighed Millard. "I had almost forgotten about _that_ "

"Well, thanks to you and your stupid book we are in quite some trouble now. Even more trouble so, now that Miss P is not here to talk us out of the situation. What are we supposed to do now? If they find Miss P to be gone they will contact the mainland. They will try to use this to get rid of us!" Hugh hissed angrily. Earlier that day Millard had gone to the pub intending on doing some more research for his book. He had decided to use the loop to study the on-goings during a single day in its complete glory. Right now he was studying what happened inside the pub. But therefore he had to get close…really close. Being invisible came in handy in those situations but for some reason he still managed to get into trouble on a regular basis. Today had been an especially nasty. It had all ended in a bar fight and he had been worried all day how he'd explain what had happened to Miss Peregrine. She would probably have had a heart attack. Right now of course they had different things to worry about concerning Miss Peregrine. They would have to deal with their unwelcome visitors themselves.

"Well, we simply do what Miss Peregrine normally does" Millard answered and Hugh raised his eyebrow in a doubtful manner.

"We cannot kill them" Hugh answered. "We don't know what happens to our loop. Maybe Miss Avocet will have to give up Miss Peregrine's loop because she cannot reset it and she creates one of her own and then they will stay dead."

Millard didn't say anything. He hadn't considered that. In that moment the doorbell rang and immediately the young ones were running towards the door expecting Miss Avocet to arrive.

"Stop!" Millard and Hugh's shouts came to late. Claire had already pulled open the door and was faced with two grim looking men.

"Hello" Claire said shyly.

"Hello young girl. Is Miss Peregrine available?" The police officer said formally.

"Uhm, no" Claire answered. In the meantime Millard had undressed completely. Hugh who could also not assist Claire at the door because he had lost control over his bees had searched the whole house for Horace. Horace was the cleverest of them all. He had read about a million books. In one of them must have been a solution for their current problem.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Is there a problem?" Horace greeted the two men. He placed a comforting hand on Claire's shoulder. With his formal way of dressing and his monocle he was the most respected one of the children.

"Good day, Mr. Somnusson. Maybe you've heard about the bar fight this morning. I am here to investigate the circumstances."

"I see" Horace answered. "May I ask what gives you the idea that any one of us was involved? Was anyone seen around?"

"Well, no. But-but I would rather discuss the details with your headmistress. I was just informed that she is not around, is that correct?" The officer answered obviously done with small talk.

"Of course she is. I'm sure Miss Peregrine will soon be able to welcome you. Right now she's very busy. She's preparing tomorrow's lesson for my older siblings. Maybe I can tell her about your visit and she will come to the police station later?" Horace suggested desperately hoping that they would fall for it. This was one of Miss P's tricks to delay the matter so long until the loop was reset and the matter was forgotten. Problem was that on some days it simply wouldn't work. Unfortunately today was such a day.

"I am sorry but this is an urgent matter and I have to insist on talking to her right now" The officer said leaving no doubt at his words. He would not leave until he had talked to Miss Peregrine.

"But-" Claire said from behind Horace.

"This is no Problem" Horace interrupted the littler girl before she could say something too close to the truth. "Please, step in Gentlemen."

Horace took a step to the side and both men entered.


	6. Chapter 6

**I hope you all enjoy chapter 6! Please tell me what you think and leave a review.**

 **I wish you all a happy new year!**

Inside the parlor Enoch was just about to start cleaning the first cut when the doorbell rang. But they decided to ignore it. There were enough people outside to deal with whoever had chosen the most unfortunate moment to come to their door. Only Miss Peregrine seemed to be unsettled by the unexpected visitor.

"Ssh, don't worry. The others are more than capable to deal with whoever it is" Olive answered calmingly. Miss Peregrine seemed to have her doubts but still stopped struggling. Whether it was because the pain became too unbearable or Olive's words were convincing enough remained unclear.

Carefully Enoch dipped a towel into a bowl of lukewarm water and started to clean one of the many cuts on Miss P's small body. Her posture immediately became rigid and she buried her head in Olive's chest who was pressing her closer to her body.

Everyone was highly concentrated. Emma released a breath she didn't know she was holding when Enoch was done with the first cut. They allowed themselves a short break before continuing with the other cuts.

"Do you think it will be necessary to stich all of those cuts?" Emma asked after Enoch was done with the second one. Miss P shuddered slightly. She was not a huge fan of needles but if it was necessary she would not put up a fight. Not that she was in the position to do so.

Enoch took a closer look at the cuts before answering. "No, I don't think so. I will stich the deep ones but those that are only superficial can heal on their own."

It took about an hour before Enoch was finally done. By now the three children felt exhausted and wished for nothing more than this nightmare to be over while Miss Peregrine was hardly able to keep her eyes open. But the work was not done yet. Enoch stabilized Miss P's broken wing as well.

"Miss P, I think it would be good if you ate and drunk something" Emma said after Enoch was done. "I'll get you something of the leftovers from lunch" Before the bird could protest her disagreement the blond girl had left the parlor to the kitchen.

"How long do you think it will take until Miss Avocet arrives?" Olive asked and Enoch shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean she has to care for her own children first. I hope she's here in time otherwise we have a big problem." Enoch answered and sighed. He opened and closed his right hand. It felt oddly stiff.

Emma returned with some leftover meat from their sandwiches and some water in a dropping glass. She offered it to Miss Peregrine but she turned her head away declining the offer.

"I know that you are probably not hungry but you have to eat something. You have to regain your strength so that you can turn back soon!" Emma said. As Miss Peregrine made no further effort to accept the offer after all Emma added "At least drink some water!"

"Let me try it" Enoch said. He motioned for Olive to hand the bird over to him. He cradled her close against his chest. He could feel her breathing steadily. She had stopped shivering and also the bleeding had stopped.

"Now, Miss P, I think Emma is right. You should be a good girl and eat something" Enoch said as if he was talking to a child. Unfortunately this didn't spark a protest in the bird as he had hoped. He had hoped that her pride would get the better of her.

"Imagine our positions were reversed. You would make us eat something too, right?" Enoch tried a second time. Miss P's normally piercing eyes turned to him but showed nothing but deep exhaustion. She just wanted to sleep.

"I know you are tired" Enoch said. "You don't have to eat much. Just this little piece here and a drop of water." Enoch grabbed a piece of meat off the plate and held it near the bird's beak and waited. After a couple of minutes Miss Peregrine had obviously come to the conclusion that it would be easier this time not to put up a fight. Slowly as not to hurt her boy she took the piece of meat and gulped it down.

"Good girl!" Enoch praised her. Normally if he had talked to his headmistress like that she would probably tore his head off.

Miss Peregrine swallowed some drops of water and then she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everybody! This is already chapter 7. Please enjoy and tell me what you think!**

Outside of the parlor the police officer and the pub owner entered the huge house. They looked around as if they had never seen this place. Of course to their minds they hadn't or at least couldn't remember it. Horace closed the door behind them. They needed a plan and fast!

Horace looked around to find a solution for their problem. There was nothing in the entrance all. There were only the doors to the neighboring rooms. And the open door to the basement. Normally Miss P insisted that the door must be closed at all times but as she had not been here the whole day the children had taken this rule not too seriously. Claire had wanted to ride her training bike that was in the cellar and had whined so long until Enoch had pity with her and had taken the bike from the cellar forgetting to close the door afterwards. Maybe this was their luck now.

"Claire, run off to get Miss Peregrine." Horace said motioning for Claire to go away with his right hand.

"But-" Claire answered confused. She frowned and looked to the parlor. Behind the backs of the two unwelcome guest Horace motioned for her to be quiet. Finally Claire seemed to understand. Quickly she hurried away and climbed up the stairs. Horace then moved closer towards the door to the basement. He could not see where Millard was but he hoped that he had understood that he now played an essential role in his plan. He cleared his throat.

"Now, where is she?" The pub owner asked impatiently. "I don't have all day! And I hope you understand that this time she won't be able talk herself out of this! She will pay for everything!"

"It was not us!" Fiona said exasperated.

"Don't you dare being insolent! I will not tolerate such behavior! If this incompetent woman is not able to teach you manners I will not hesitate to do so myself!" He growled angrily.

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Fiona hissed back. She was a feisty girl that wasn't afraid of anyone. Not even of a man twice her size.

Her last words were finally the straw that broke the camel's back. He was just about to launch himself at the young girl as something hit him from the side. Millard. Sometimes having an invisible among them came in very handy.

The man tumbled and started hitting the air in a desperate attempt to hit whatever had attacked him. The police officer near him had drawn his weapon. Damn it! This was getting out of control. Millard struck again. This time he pushed the police officer towards the door of the basement but he was not strong enough. With a loud crash the bumped into Miss Peregrine's beloved ancient side table.

The police officer whirled his hands through the air. He hit Millard square into the chest. He fell to the floor with a loud bang. That was the moment that the other children woke up from their lethargy. Horace grabbed a nearby vase. In his mind he apologized to Miss Peregrine for intending on destroying her beautiful decorations. Fiona had grabbed a pot plant which immediately started to grow and wind around the legs of the two men. Problem was that they tore them apart with ease. Fiona gulped audibly. The police officer grabbed Horace mid-motion before he could strike home with the vase. The officer slung his arms around Horace's waist and tried to keep him down. He held his pistol at Horace's head. At the same time the pub owner was desperately trying to keep a swarm of bees away from his face. Suddenly the officer screamed in pain and dropped his weapon. Claire had bitten him with her back mouth. Horace quickly picked up the pistol and removed the bullets.

"YOU!" The Officer roared and grabbed Claire's beautiful blond locks and pulled. But what he did not know was that if one wanted to hurt Claire they would have to deal with the twins first. They had grabbed forks from the kitchen and were picking at the officer's legs. At first they had wanted to use their peculiarity to get rid of the two men but Fiona had quickly stopped them.

That was when Bronwyn joined the fight. She came storming in roaring louder than any lion could. It was really frightening. All the children were happy that she was fighting on their side. She grabbed the pub owner's right leg and pulled as strongly as she could. An unmanly high pitched scream was followed by a loud bang as he fell lengthwise on the floor. Bronwyn pulled him towards the basement door and with one strong motion hurled him down the stairs. He screamed as he fell down the stone stairs. They could hear him curse as he reached the bottom. The police officer's face became pale as Bronwyn turned towards him.

"P-please" He stuttered. He lifted his hands high above his head. "P-please, I am un-unarmed. How about we forget about all of it and I'll just go and won't bother you any longer"

Bronwyn stood with her hands on her hips. "Actually, I suggest that you join the pub owner in the basement. You can choose whether you go on your own or if I should help you"

The police officer cleared his throat. A slight blush colored his cheeks as he marched towards the basement door with hanging shoulders and the laughter of the children in his ears.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everybody! This is chapter 8. I hope you all enjoy it. I would be really interested in your opinion on the latest developments! So please keep reading and reviewing! Thank you.**

Inside the parlor the three children sighed at the sight of the sleeping Miss Peregrine. Enoch felt the fear and stress fall off and he relaxed his shoulders. For a couple of minutes no one said a word when suddenly outside there was a deafening crash, followed by another. The three of them jumped to their feet. Miss Peregrine had obviously slipped into a deep slumber as she didn't even give the slightest reaction.

"Stay with her" Enoch said to the girls and left the parlor. Carefully he closed the door behind him and was immediately faced with a scenery that could only be described as a battle field.

Enoch looked at his siblings who were standing around the now closed door to the basement.

"What happened here?" Enoch asked bewildered. Before anyone could answer it sounded as if there was someone throwing himself against the door from the other side. All of the children jumped and took a step back from the door. That was when Enoch spotted the now empty pistol lying on the floor. He grabbed it and was relieved to see that it was no longer harmful.

"Look, we can explain everything" Millard said. He was wearing his clothes again. Then the children told their older brother what had happened.

"Does this mean that the police officer and the pub owner are locked in our basement?" Enoch asked after they had finished. The children nodded. "And what do you think what we are going to do with them now?"

"Leave them down there?" Millard asked. His voice became more quiet as he was confronted with Enoch's death stare.

"I would be more worried about what Miss P is going to say if she sees how our entrance hall looks" Claire answered as a matter of fact. Internally, Enoch had to agree with her.

"Everything will be alright when Miss Avocet arrives" Horace said.

"How's the bird?" Bronwyn asked about Miss P's whereabouts. Enoch explained what had happened behind the locked doors of the parlor. After assuring his younger siblings several times that their ymbryne would be fine in no time he looked at the big long case clock in the corner. There were only three hours left before the loop would close.

Horace who had seen his brother's look at the clock and said "She will come, Enoch. She would never allow anything happening to us"

Enoch looked doubtful. "We mustn't take risks. We still don't know what happened to Miss Peregrine. Emma will stay with the bird and Olive and I will help you packing our belongings."

The others looked at him with big eyes. "I don't want to leave!" Claire had tears in her eyes. The twins hugged the girl from both sides.

"Darling, we won't leave if it is not absolutely necessary. We mustn't be unprepared, that's all I am saying. Most likely Miss Avocet will arrive soon and we can unpack our bags but there is a slim chance she is hindered and won't be here in time to save the loop." Enoch explained. They weren't convinced at all. For a moment Enoch considered if he was overreacting but he would never forgive himself if they were surprised by another negative turn of events.

"How about you already get your things and I'll get Olive." Enoch asked trying to put some cheer into his voice but failing gloriously. Claire sniffed and slowly they moved up the stairs towards their rooms. Enoch went back into the parlor and initiated them into his decision. He was surprised that no one had challenged his authority but then he remembered the time when Miss Peregrine had initiated a meeting where she had presented them with her plan on what to do in case of-well, in case that she was not around to protect them. Enoch had been surprised to hear that in this case he was in charge. Probably that was why no one questioned his decision even if they didn't like it. They respected Miss Peregrine enough to accept her decision and maybe, yes maybe, they even trusted him to make the right decision.

Emma and Olive where doubtful and worried as well but they understood the thought behind his decision. Emma agreed to stay with Miss Peregrine and Olive and Enoch joined their younger siblings in their mission to gather their most valuable belongings.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everybody out there! Chapter 9 is a bit longer than the others, I hope you enjoy it! Please tell me what you think!**

Enoch looked at the clock for the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. Two hours before the bomb would hit their home and would burn it down to ashes. Miss Avocet had still not arrived and slowly but surely Enoch became nervous. That's why Enoch was currently going through Miss Peregrine's study. He felt like an intruder. It was her, not him, who should be standing here right now. Well, to be precise if she would be in the position to be here right now everything would be fine.

Enoch pulled open the drawers of his headmistress' desk. They were as neatly organized as he had expected. He found letters, pictures and jewelry he had never seen her wearing. Also, there were several things he did not recognized. Those must be objects from the future he mused and quickly put them back as not destroy them. He tried to spend as little time as possible snooping in her personal belongings. He was simply looking for her money and their passports. He closed the drawer he had just looked through and was surprised to find the lowest one locked. For a moment he contemplated using pure force but decided against it. He did not want to destroy her antique interior.

He looked around. Where could she have hidden the key? Basically the key could be anywhere. He let his eyes wander through the room. There were large book shelves attorning the walls. Beautiful art decorated the remaining spaces. Actually, her office was overflowing with pictures, books and antique furniture. Everywhere were vases, glass and what looked to him like nugatory odds and ends but probably all had a history and had a high emotional value to Miss Peregrine. The whole room looked like a museum that displayed the life of Miss Alma Lefay Peregrine. And where would this clever and canny woman hide a key that was potentially essential for the wellbeing of her beloved children? She had to make sure that in case of an emergency the key was well hidden so that it could be found by no one intruding their home but not too well so that he wouldn't be able to locate it. There had to be a clue somewhere.

The clue had to have a connection to them. He scanned the room again looking for connections to her children. There was a large picture on the wall in a beautiful golden frame with little blue diamonds. It was their group picture that had been taken about one year ago. It showed each of their peculiarities. Miss Peregrine was standing next to her children looking proud like any mother should when she regraded her children.

Carefully Enoch looked behind the frame but knowing that their headmistress would not have been so foolish as to choose such a simple hiding place. Of course not. Feeling a little disappointed anyway he took a closer look at the picture. Maybe there was clue hidden in the picture. After several minutes he had to admit that probably the picture was just that-a picture without any hidden clues. He sighed and sat down behind her desk on her admittedly quite comfy chair. Where was the damn key?!

For a moment he considered the case that the key was nowhere in this room or that the content of the drawer was completely irrelevant. He quickly dismissed this thought. It had to mean something.

Then he spotted something on the top of one of the book shelves. It was a simple looking box. Normally he would have ignored it but now he climbed on a chair and pulled it down. It was quite heavy. Inside were piles and piles of childish pictures and handicraft work. It were all the things they had ever made for their ymbryne. She had kept it all in this box. Suddenly he could imagine her sitting behind her desk, the box on her desk looking through its content remember the joy and love she felt when she had been given those works. He took a closer look at the uppermost picture. A lump formed in his throat when he realized that it was a picture he had drawn just after he had arrived at this home several years before the loop had been created. The ymbryne he had been living with before had been very old and had not been able to handle a grumpy and moody boy who on several occasions had not hesitated to raise an entire grave yard. Thinking back he felt sorry for being so difficult. Miss Peregrine of course had not accepted any disobedience. In the early years she had made every child that had committed a wrongdoing draw a picture of their act of disobedience as an apology. He had drawn this picture as an apology after he had broken into her study. He remembered that he had looked for money too. He had wanted to leave the island. Of course she had caught him. She had been very angry and for the first time in his life he had been _scared._ But he had not been scared of _her_ , he had been scared of being abandoned _by her_. After he had apologized with this picture he and her had had an intensive talk that had ended with him lying across her lap crying his eyes out. He had never felt the urge to leave the island again. It felt as if it had only been yesterday.

He took a closer look at the picture. There was him in Miss Peregrine's office just like he was now. And there was something underneath his feet. Or at least it looked as if it was underneath his feet. Unfortunately his young self had not been very talented at drawing pictures with the right perspective and proportions. He looked closer and suddenly his breath caught. Could it be? There underneath his feet he had drawn a… _key!_ He could not remember this particular detail but apparently snooping through her personal belongings he had found a key. Quickly he slid off the chair and onto his knees. With his hands he felt for _something_ different on the floor that indicated a hidden concealment. The tips of his fingers brushed against a gap between two floor boards that was unusually big. He used his finger nails to move the floor board slightly. Jackpot! With some difficulties he managed to loosen the floor board until the board could be taken out. Thank the bird! He had no idea how he had managed to find the key as a young boy but he was unbelievably grateful for it now.

Quickly he grabbed into the hole and felt for any hidden objects and there in the farthest corner lay the key! He grabbed it and put the board back. Then he hurried back to the desk. The key fit perfectly into the hole! He pulled open the drawer and there was everything he had been looking for. In a small bag with the label 'for emergency' was enough money and their twelve passports. He quickly took it out, locked the drawer and hit the key again. He then hurried out of the room. He had spent enough time disregarding her privacy.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everybody out there who's still reading this story! I want to thank you all for your continued support! Especially,** **ChicagoPDFire** **,** **plengpoonyapa** **and Pearlislove but of course also to all the others and of course all the guest reviewers.**

As Enoch stepped out of Miss P's office it was as if he had stepped right into hell. He had never experienced such chaos before. Without Miss Peregrine there to coordinate their actions everyone was running around heedlessly. There was a big chest standing right in front of the door to the basement. If he concentrated just on the door he could hear their prisoners slamming their fists against the door from inside. The others probably had chosen to use the chest to prevent them from kicking in the door. He walked over to the door and slammed against it as well.

"Be quiet!" He shouted. "If you behave you'll be out of here in no time, I promise. We just wait for Miss Peregrine's-" For a moment he considered what to call Miss Avocet. Actually she was Miss P's ymbryne sister but considering that the bird had once been Miss Avocet's charge and the way she often talked about her mentor indicated that Miss Peregrine considered Miss Avocet more a mother than a sister. In the end Enoch still settled on sister. That was at least the official term. "-sister. She will know what to do and she will deal with you."

One of the two kicked the door especially forceful. "Ey! Behave, otherwise there will be consequences."

He quickly marched into the parlor where Miss P was still sleeping in Emma's arms. Enoch closed the door quietly and nodded towards their ymbryne to inquire how she was doing.

"She has not yet woken up" Emma answered. "Has Miss Avocet arrived already?"

Enoch shook his head with worry in his eyes. Time was running out. Like sand it was slipping through their fingers and they had no way of slowing it down. One and a half hours before the bomb would blow their home into pieces together with all of their belongings.

"What is taking her so long?" Emma whispered angrily trying to keep her voice down as not to wake the bird. "She promised to come, didn't she?"

"She did. Maybe she was delayed by something or someone?" Enoch suggested vaguely. He could understand Emma's desperation all too well. After all he could feel panic gnawing at the pit of his stomach. Both of them looked at Miss Peregrine and tried to assess the odds that she would recover quick enough to reset the loop herself. But those chances were slim. Too slim to rely on.

"We still don't know what happened to Miss Peregrine" Emma said quietly looking out of the window at the sky with hopeful eyes. But she was immediately disappointed when no bird could be seen. "Maybe the same happened to Miss Avocet and she is hurt, lying somewhere in a ditch and needs our help as well?"

Enoch gulped. "We mustn't think like that. She will come! She is fine" He knew that his words could not sooth the fear that Emma felt.

"What are we going to do with the police officer and the pub owner?" Emma asked. "If Miss Avocet doesn't arrive in time, we'll have to take them with us out of the house. We have to find a way to prevent them from contacting the mainland. Otherwise we will be shipped off to the mainland and we will end up at some orphanage, most likely we will be separated. Can you imagine what they will do to the twins? They are not only peculiar but also dangerous if provoked."

Enoch buried his head in his hands. "And Hugh and Millard. They will try to find out what their secret is. Claire will be so frightened."

"We will all be frightened." Emma said.

Suddenly they heard a noise. It was a loud screech. Miss Peregrine was up!

She flapped her good wing furiously and continued to screech. "Shh" Emma said trying to calm her down. Enoch kneeled down next to Emma and grabbed the bird around her body. He pulled her close.

"Ssh, it's okay. We are sorry. We know that you would never let that happen. We know that" Enoch whispered and then placed a kiss on her head.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everybody out there! I cannot believe that this is already chapter 11. I had never intended for this story to be so long and it's still not over yet. Now business is about to get serious. What do you think?**

Just a bit more than one hour to go. One hour! The children were sitting in the hallway with their packed belongings. Their eyes were full of fear of what the future had in store for them. Far away they could hear planes flying over the mainland. From time to time they could hear the explosion of bombs. They had heard those noises so often that they normally didn't even notice them. Not so today. Knowing that in one hour their house would burn to the ground caused them to listen to even the smallest noises. This was quite difficult though as the twins were constantly whimpering. They were pressing themselves against Olive who was sitting motionless on a suitcase.

Enoch just entered the hallway. He had tried to call Miss Avocet's loop again but no one had picked up the phone. Olive looked at him hopefully but he only shook his head in desperation.

"But-" Bronwyn started. "What are we going to do now? We cannot leave!"

Enoch bend down until he was eye to eye with the young girl. "I don't want to leave either, but maybe we don't have a choice" Bronwyn sighed heavily.

Suddenly the door to the parlor opened and Emma joined them. She was carrying Miss Peregrine in her arms.

"Miss P!" Claire squealed and ran to their ymbryne. Emma stopped her in the last moment.

"Careful, Claire! She's still hurt, but she wanted to see you all"

Claire carefully caressed the ymbryne's head with her index finger. "Please Miss P, can't you just turn back and save our house?"

The bird cooed quietly and rubbed her head against her youngest charge's hand in a comforting motion. Obviously she couldn't.

"Claire, if she could turn back she would have done so by now" Emma answered in their ymbryne's place. "But she needs more time to heal."

The following silence was interrupted by the clock that announced that it now was eight o' clock. This caused Miss Peregrine to flap her good wing furiously. But right now she was as powerless as her children. She was stuck.

Enoch quickly told the ymbryne that they had tried to call Miss Avocet's loop several times but no one had picked up the phone. This seemed to worry the bird even more. Normally there had to be several children that could pick up the phone.

Outside the first rain drops started to fall. Soon the sound of the detonating bombs mixed with the sound of the raindrops hitting the window. Apart from that the ticking of the clock was the only thing that could be heard.

Half an hour. 30 minutes. Enoch couldn't tear his eyes away from the clock. One minute after the other passed. Ten minutes later their two prisoners made another attempt to break out of their confinement. Miss Peregrine who of course had not yet been told about their visitors was so startled that she almost fell off Emma's lap. Emma was hardly able to catch the bird.

The younger children explained what had happened in turns with excitement in their voice. Miss P was obviously not happy about what had happened regarding that the police officer had carried a gun but she was also impressed with the children's wits.

"But don't worry if…if Miss Avocet won't be here on time we will of course let them out." Enoch sighed. The bird nodded.

Fifteen minutes. Reluctantly Enoch told the children to grab their things and leave the house. The last thing they did was getting the two men from the cellar. Bronwyn tied them up and gagged them.

Ten minutes. They were standing far away from their home but still in viewing distance. They couldn't believe what was happening. Their home! The two men were sitting in the wet grass looking from one child to the other not understanding why they had left the house. No one bothered to explain why.

Five Minutes. The young ones started to cry. They pleaded for Miss Peregrine to turn back. It was obvious how much her inability to protect her children hurt Miss Peregrine. She would give anything to be able to transform back and reset the loop.

Four minutes.

Three minutes.

Two minutes.

One minute.

30 seconds.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for your overwhelming feedback to the last chapter! Here's what happens next. Did you expect that turn of events?**

That was it. The house was burning. The flames were leaking out of the remaining windows destroying everything that had survived the impact of the bomb. For a moment Miss Peregrine was glad that animals were not able to cry because she knew that if she possessed her human form right now she would be falling apart right here. Not that it hurt any less to lose all of their physical possessions in her bird form but to her children it was less obvious. On the other hand she would do everything to be able to turn back and comfort her children. Especially the young ones were beyond confused and shell-shocked. Their home they had lived in for decades was destroyed! Burned down to ashes, beyond repair. The harsh truth was that they were homeless now. They had no place to go. And she was stuck in her bird form. In her mind Miss Peregrine cursed in the most unladylike manner.

She was far from feeling well. It felt as if her whole body hurt. She couldn't even distinguish where the pain was coming from. But she couldn't be weak now. She had failed her children. She had let herself be hurt and now her children had to endure the consequences.

She flapped her good wing to get all of her children's attention. ' _Go!_ ' She cooed but they didn't seem to understand. Most of the children had tear stains on their cheeks and red and puffy eyes. On top they were soaked. No one had thought to bring an umbrella. They had to find a dry place otherwise they would freeze to death. Miss Peregrine screeched again to get the attention of her children. She tried not to look at their now burning home but instead focused on her beloved children. As much as it hurt her to lose everything she had worked so hard for it would have been more horrible to lose another one of her children.

The children seemed like they were in a trance. This needed to stop! This was not the place nor time for them to grieve the life they had just lost. Miss Peregrine was still being held closely by Enoch. In her mind she already apologized to her oldest son. Then she picked at his hand. Hard.

"Ouch" Enoch exclaimed. "Miss P!"

With her head she nudged him. At first Enoch thought that she wanted to apologize and he was just about to tell her that it was alright when he realized what she truly wanted. They needed to get away!

"We have to go!" Enoch said and the bird nodded approvingly.

"But where?" Claire asked and suddenly it became all too obvious that she was only five years old. It was often forgot how small most of her children actually were in a loop where the same day repeated itself continuously.

"Claire, we will find another lovely home, I promise. But now we need to leave and find a place to stay for tonight." Enoch explained as calmly as he could. He was just as frightened as his siblings were but they were looking at him for comfort in this times of need and he was ready to fulfill this role no matter what. They needed him!

Olive grabbed the hands of the twins and Enoch took Claire in his arms. Quickly Claire snatched Miss Peregrine from his other arm and pressed her against her chest as if she was one of Claire's stuffed animals. Normally Miss P would have not liked being manhandled like that but right now if that was what Claire needed she would play along.

Slowly, way too slowly they walked down towards the other side of the island. They had no real destination in mind yet. Far away they could hear people marching through the forest towards their home. They had left the police officer and the pub owner behind. They would be found by the other inhabitants. Normally it would have been convenient if Miss Peregrine would have been able to manipulate their minds but in her current position she was of course unable to. Right now they knew that the children were somewhere on the island without any caregiver (that was of course what they thought). They would try to find them and ship them off to the mainland. The only good thing was that they were not aging forward rapidly because they were still in 1943. They marched towards the coast where huge caves could be found along the beach. They would hide there. Olive could warm them with her fire and could dry their clothes. They had packed several warm blankets and they would wait for the morning and then they would take the first ferry to the mainland. It was only a matter of time until Miss Peregrine would be fine again. Then she would find them another home and create another loop. That was at least what Enoch told himself. In reality everything would be a lot more difficult. They had a lot of challenges to overcome.


	13. Chapter 13

**Judging from your comments most of you didn't expect that turn of events. See what happens next! I'm dying to read what you think about this chapter or the story in general.**

The night was as dark as a night could be. Not even the moon light was able to get through the thick dark clouds at the sky. The twelve children were stumbling towards a dark hole in the wall. By now they could hardly keep themselves from simply falling over. The happenings of the day were finally catching up with them. In merely one day they had lost everything-except of course each other. Miss Peregrine was still cradled in now sleeping Claire's arms. Carefully so no one would see them they entered the cave. Someone had even thought of bringing dry wood from their shed behind the house so Olive could light a fire. Quickly everyone gathered around the warming flames. They changed out of their wet clothes into dry ones they had brought along but they were still feeling cold. Slowly that warm fire warmed them. But the warmth could not reach their souls. No one of them could understand how their lives could change from peaceful and near-perfect to horrible so quickly.

Enoch cleared his voice. "Well, I just want you to know…that, you know…you don't have to be afraid"

He was himself at a loss of words and he was very frightened as well. He did not feel in the position to comfort others. Olive was hugging Bronwyn and Emma pulled the twins closer towards her.

'Wow, what a great comfort speech' He thought to himself.

"What are we going to do now?" Hugh asked. His bees were quietly flying around them. "Horace, did you dream about anything useful?"

Horace shook his head. Great.

"Well, then" Enoch said thinking about what to do next. "Then we will stay here for tonight and tomorrow we are going to take the first ferry off the island."

"You think they will simply let us leave like that? Won't they be asking questions?" Hugh asked skeptically.

"We will find a way" Enoch said more convinced than he actually was. "Now, you should all sleep. I'll stay up as a night watch"

The others nodded and started to look for a comfortable place near the fire. Those children who could overcome their pride or had no problem with that in the first place snuggled closely together.

Enoch leaned against the cold stone wall. His eye lid felt heavy beyond believe. But he had promised to stay awake. He needed to stay awake. He needed…

He was woken up by a bright light shining directly into his eyes. For a brief moment he thought it was the rising sun entering the cave and announcing the new day. But in fact it was not. It was a lamp that was held only inches before his face. A rough hand grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet.

"Come now, boy, stand up. We've got you" A man with a thick accent said. It took a moment before Enoch realized what had happened merely hours before and what was happening right now. There were about six or seven men in the cave around them waking the children one after the other.

"What are you doing?" Enoch asked alarmed. Suddenly he heard Miss Peregrine screech in both fear and fury.

"Bloody bird!" One of the men cursed and slashed at the bird.

"No!" Claire screamed. "You are going to hurt her!"

"What are you talking about girl? You can be happy I'm here now because otherwise this bird would have hurt _you_. Look at those talons and that beak!" The man said unfriendly. He managed to hit the bird and she slammed against the wall and fell down like a stone. She lay motionlessly in the sand. He grabbed screaming Claire's hand and pulled her towards the entrance of the cave.

"What are you doing?" Enoch asked again this time louder and more fierce in his voice. The man who had pulled him up turned towards him.

"We searched the whole island for you after your home was hit by the bomb. Your headmistress is not with you? Sorry to tell you, we did not find her anywhere. She probably was still in the house when the bomb struck." He didn't sound sorry at all. The peculiar family had always had problems with the normal people from the island.

One after the other the children were pulled out of the cave. Not many of them were struggling, they were still drowsy and were not realizing what was happening.

The man next to Enoch grabbed the boy's shoulder and dragged him out of the cave. "Let us go!" He roared sounding incredibly frightening. The men were completely unimpressed.

"Don't worry. We already called the mainland. They will find a new home for you with someone who has actually the capabilities of raising children like you"


	14. Chapter 14

"Miss Peregrine is the best headmistress in the world!" Claire screamed loudly while tears were streaming down her face. She crossed her arms and let herself drop to the ground as to prevent the man who had his hand wrapped around her upper arm from dragging her away. Of course this was in vain. The man's face turned red in anger. Then his eyes fell on the twins.

"And what about you two? Why are you wearing these ridiculous costumes! Immediately take it off, this is unbelievably disrespectful!" He roared and when they did not make any effort to take off their masks he stormed over dragging Claire behind him through the sand.

"NO!" Emma and Olive screamed. Of course he didn't listen. He let go of Claire and was just about to rip the masks off their faces when Enoch could wind out of his capturer's strong grip. With all the strength he possessed he pulled the man who was just about to get transfixed by the twins backwards.

"Don't!" He roared. Everybody looked at them in surprise. "They don't like it" He added a bit calmer.

"Alright" The man said in his bewilderment and took a step back. 'Thank the bird' Enoch thought. The last thing they needed right now was a transfixed man. There would surely be a witch hunt if those men found out that things about them were not as they were supposed to be. Enoch just hoped that the men would stay oblivious to the quiet buzzing from the bee's in Hugh's stomach and about the flying set of clothes-wait, where was Millard? Without attracting any attention Enoch looked around. Ten. There were only ten of them. Where was Millard? Most likely he had managed to slip out of his clothes and was now completely invisible to everyone around him. Enoch did not know what he hoped more for: that Millard had stayed with Miss Peregrine or that he was with them coming up with a clever plan to get rid of their capturers.

"We have to go, the ferry will depart in half an hour!" One of the men said. The others nodded and some grunted in approval. They started to drag them towards the small town.

"Hey, wait!" Enoch shouted and tried to rip free from the tight grip around his upper arm. But it was in vain, the man was almost one head taller than him and a lot stronger. "What are you going to do to us?"

"You will take the first ferry to the mainland. You will be escorted from there to a new home for you" The man who was dragging Olive and Horace behind him said calmly.

"You cannot to that" Little Claire wined. The tears started to fall from her eyes again.

"Claire, everything is going to be fine, I promise!" Enoch called to her.

"This is just for your best" Another man said before spitting on the ground. "And the best for us. Then we will finally be rid of you"

 _Back in the cave:_

Millard stumbled back through the entrance of the cave. He had followed the others for a bit to find out where they were brought to and the situation was more dire than he had first imagined. They were transported to the mainland! For a moment he had considered to attack the men but even if they would have won, the island was like a prison to them. They could not hide from the townsfolk forever. At some point they would be found. And leaving the island with the ferry would also draw unwelcome attention on them.

He quickly rushed to where Miss Peregrine had dropped to the floor. But she was gone.

"Damn! Where is she?!" Millard cursed loudly when something warm touched his leg. He made a big jump to one side and let out quite a girly scream.

"Miss P! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He said breathing out audibly. The bird looked at him in a way that Millard could only describe as amused. Apart from her disheveled appearance she had luckily suffered no further injuries.

Millard kneeled down in the floor and picked up the bird. "Miss P, they want to bring them to the mainland. What are we going to do?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everybody! I am terribly sorry that I did not update this story yesterday! I hope you still enjoy this (slightly delayed) chapter. For those of you who have not read the books, I might need to explain that Miss P has the ability to manipulate the minds of normal people or erase their memories.**

Instead of giving an answer Miss P hopped off Millard's lap and stumbled over the uneven sand to a small bag that lay there. In this bag where her possessions. Normally she would not have liked her children snooping around her closet but given the circumstances it was better than ending up naked in the end. Probably there were less than even half the things in there that she would have packed for herself. But as long as clothing was in there, she would be satisfied. With her beak she pulled open the bag and looked inside. There it was, one of her favorite dresses. Quickly but carefully she pulled the dress out.

"Miss P, can you-" Millard breathed in a mixture of relieve and surprise.

Miss P hopped into her dress. Slowly she started to fill the dress and it took only a couple of seconds before the bird had turned into a heavily breathing woman. Her face was very pale. Even her lips were unbelievably white. She gulped heavily. She was crouched over and was shaking slightly. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath to stop her vision from spinning.

"Miss P!" Millard yelled and stormed towards her. In his hurry he threw Miss P off her feet. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed himself as closely against her as he could.

"Oh" Miss Peregrine breathed in surprise. She was not used to this kind of behavior from her children towards her. She blinked a couple of times to get rid of the black spots at the edge of her vision. As much as she loved having her boy close, the wounds on her body were far from healed and transforming back into a human had taken a lot of energy. She placed her hand on the back of Millard's head and placed a kiss on top of his head. It was only then that she realized that he was sobbing heavily into her shoulder.

"Shh, my boy, don't cry. I promise now everything is going to be okay." Miss Peregrine said. With her other hand she rubbed soothing circled on Millard's back.

"B-but our house…and the others…gone. I want them back" Millard sopped. Miss Peregrine blinked away some tears before answering.

"Honey, I promise that we will get them back and then we will find a new home where we are not living in the constant danger of a bomb dropping on us" Miss Peregrine answered. "I would never give up on my children. Also we have to find out what kept Miss Avocet from saving us. It must have been a dire reason. She would never let us down without a proper reason."

Millard nodded. "They are probably gone right now already. What are we going to do?"

Miss Peregrine thought about it for a second. She didn't dare to turn back to her bird form to fly back to the mainland because she was too weak and she also didn't want to leave her child alone again.

"We will take the next ferry." Miss Peregrine explained. "The ship leaves in two hours. When we arrive at the mainland we will go looking for them and we will find them, I promise"

Millard nodded. Slowly the two scrambled to their feet.

"Miss P?" Miss Peregrine looked at her child questionably. "I think it would be best if the townsfolk do not recognize you. They think you are dead, maybe it is best if it stays that way."

Miss Peregrine nodded in agreement. "We do not have many ways of concealing your identity. But maybe this scarf will do" Millard said and pulled a dark scarf out of the bag that was big enough to conceal her hair and her shoulders.

"That will have to do" The bird said and added a little mischievously "and if someone was to ask too many question I might have to take my peculiarity into action"

Of course Miss P couldn't see it but Millard was grinning widely. Now everything would be fine. Miss Peregrine was back and she would save the day.

Together they made their to the town. Millard had undressed again and was now completely invisible to the people around them. He was holding onto Miss Peregrine's hand tightly. A dangerous situation was when Miss P bought her ticket for the ferry. But Miss Peregrine would not be Miss Peregrine if she couldn't handle such a situation with ease. Soon the two were boarding the ferry. They would get the other children back!


	16. Chapter 16

The journey to the mainland did not take very long so soon Millard and his ymbryne were walking down the gangway. Millard was still invisible. He held onto Miss Peregrine's hand as if his life depended on it. They had lived so long on the island that the outside world had become like a fairytale world to the peculiar children and Millard was no exception to that. To be honest, he was scared. He looked around both curiously and frightened at the same time.

Miss Peregrine squeezed his hand comfortingly. She was nervous as well but she tried to disguise this fact as well as she could. She needed to be strong now for her children.

"Where are we going now?" Millard whispered quietly so he would not attract any attention. Miss Peregrine looked at the invisible spot beside her lovingly.

"Well, I think we will go to the nearest police station first. They must have been informed when ten children are being brought to the mainland after a bomb attack" Miss Peregrine suggested. Together they left the small harbor and started to walk towards a small town that was closest to their current position. As they were walking through the streets curious looks followed them (or Miss Peregrine only). The bird didn't pay them any attention. She had a mission she needed to complete.

Only a couple of minutes later Miss Peregrine stormed into the police office forcefully but still graceful. The police officer who had been bend over his paper work merely seconds ago looked up in surprise.

"Good day, Ma'am. What may I do for you?" He asked with a strong accent.

"Good day, sir. I am here to inquire the whereabouts of ten children that have been brought to the mainland after a bomb dropped on their home." Miss Peregrine did not waste any time with small talk. The man looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know-"

"Please, where are they?" Miss Peregrine asked demandingly.

"Um, well, I have indeed been informed that there would several children be brought here after a bomb attack but they never arrived." The police officer shrugged.

"What?!" Miss Peregrine and Millard shouted. The police officer looked around to find the source of the invisible boy's voice.

"Did you not try to find out what happened to them?" Miss Peregrine asked angrily. Her stomach clenched painfully. She felt sick. What had happened to her children?

"Well, uhm-"

"Forget about it" Alma hissed. She stormed towards the man and tore a falcon feather out of her hair. She looked deep into his eyes and said "it has been a terribly stressful day for you, hasn't it?"

The police officer nodded lost in thought. "Yes…yes" He whispered.

"How about you simply forget we were here? Just go home and lie down for a bit, alright?" Miss Peregrine suggested with a sugar sweet voice.

"Yes, yes" He said breathlessly and without giving them so much as a second glance he marched out of his office.

Miss Peregrine and Millard followed. Although Miss Peregrine had a limp it was hard for Millard to keep up with her.

"Where are we going?" Millard panted when he finally caught up with her.

Miss Peregrine didn't answer. Suddenly she stopped midmotion. Millard did not react quickly enough and bumped right into her.

A small crowd had gathered in front of them. They were shouting and cheering. Miss Peregrine frowned. This didn't look good. Quickly they hurried towards the crowd.

Millard pushed the people aside and Miss Peregrine followed him. When they reached the front row they saw what the people were cheering and laughing at. In the middle of the circle was a young boy who was waving a net in his hand. Inside the net there was a screeching bird. An avocet.


	17. Chapter 17

**You've no idea how sorry I am that it took me so long to update this story. I cannot remember the last time a week has been so awful for me and it's only Wednesday. Anyway, finally here's the new chapter and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Thank you again for the many reviews! You guys are the best readers I could ever ask for!**

For a couple of seconds both Miss Peregrine and Millard simply stared at the scene that was unfolding in front of them. Those monsters around cheered at the boy who held the battered looking bird captive. _As is if there was not enough cruelty, pain and terror in the world_ , Alma thought to herself. Millard looked at his headmistress. By living with her for over sixty years he had gotten to know the way her posture stiffened and her cheeks became a powerful shade of red just seconds before she exploded. She looked at the invisible spot where Millard was standing.

"Wait over there" She hissed and nodded towards the entrance to a little shop. Millard knew better than to disrespect her orders when his headmistress was in that kind of mood. Quickly Millard hurried away using more force while blazing his way through the crowd than would have actually been necessary. Miss Peregrine took a deep breath. She could feel a strong headache coming. Her whole body still hurt, there were bruises everywhere, she was worried about her children beyond believe, her mother of sorts might be caught in a net being mistreated by a disrespectful young man and the roaring of the crowd around her was not making it any better. It was time that this violation ended!

Miss Peregrine took a step forward towards the boy. At first the boy did not pay her any attention. She got closer and closer and slowly the boy started to notice her.

"Ey, what do you want?!" He barked at her and kicked some dirt in her direction.

"Young man" Miss Peregrine said calmly resisting the urge to shout at him. "Did no one ever tell you that animals are to be treated with respect?"

The boy only laughed and spit on the ground. "I don't care about those bloody animals. I want to have some fun!"

"Well, it doesn't look like she is having a lot of fun" Miss P said and pointed at the screeching bird. "Please hand over the net."

"Or you are going to do what?" The boy waved the net in front of her face teasingly. It was in moments like this that Miss Peregrine wished to be slightly taller. It was much harder being intimidating when she was a lot smaller than the other person.

Miss Peregrine considered her options. Using violence against children was no option. No one should endure any sort of physical or psychological violence, this boy being no exception to that rule even if he did not share this belief himself. In the end she settled on the most obvious of choices. With a strong motion she ripped the net from the boy's hand.

"Ey!" He shouted angrily. The crowd started shouting angrily as well.

"What do you think you are doin'" A man with a deep voice asked from behind her. Slowly she turned around. The man standing now in front of her looked like a giant. He was at least one head taller than her and three times as broad. He looked as if he was able to tear trees from the ground.

Miss Peregrine put both her hands on her waist. "And who exactly are you?" She tried to keep an indifferent posture.

"This is my son you've just stolen from" He growled.

"Stolen? Pardon me, this bird is no possession of your son. Birds are meant to be free and not being held captive in a net"

"Stolen" He repeated again. He frowned. He was not used to back-talk, especially not by a woman. The giant took a step towards her. She remained where she was although her senses were screaming at her to turn around and run. But she would not give in that easily. "I am giving you one last chance to give it back."

Then Alma laughed. "Or you are going to do what?" She mimicked the young boy's voice. The man's face turned into a grimace. He was just about to grab her upper arm when she took a step back and he missed his target.

"One might think a grown man has enough respect to treat a lady well but apparently I am mistaken. Unfortunately I have no time right now to teach you some manners. I will go now." Miss Peregrine said and turned her back towards the man. But the crowd had closed the circle around them making a quick getaway impossible. But Miss Peregrine only shrugged and grinned. Quickly she opened the net and in mere seconds the avocet flew off into the sky. The crowd got nearer and nearer.

Just in the moment when the first people started to launch at her she turned into a bird and followed the avocet into the sky. The people stopped midmotion and looked around in surprise. They could not believe what they had just seen. The only proof that they had not imagined this encounter was Miss Peregrine's dress that was now lying on the ground.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello everybody out there who's still interested in this story! I cannot believe how long it took me to continue this story. Unfortunately preparing for my exams leaves me with hardly any time to do anything else than study. But finally here comes the next chapter! Believe me, I intend to finish this story no matter what.**

 **Please leave a review!**

Millard watched the two birds fly off into the sky. Quickly he hurried over to where Miss Peregrine's dress was still lying on the ground and grabbed it. Then he ran into the direction where the two birds had flown off to. He hoped that they were not flying too far, but luckily he only had to run around a couple of corners to meet the ymbrynes again. He stopped running when he saw the two birds sitting on the ground in a dark alley.

"There you are!" He whispered quickly and marched toward the birds. He could see the Peregrine falcon fussing over the battered looking Avocet. If anyone would have encountered this situation by chance he would have probably wondered about the odd behavior of the birds.

Millard placed the dress on the ground and pulled another one from the bag with Miss P's clothes in it. He hoped that the dress would fit the other ymbryne. Then he turned around to grant the two women a little privacy. Behind his back he could hear the well-known noise of flapping of wings and from the corner of his eyes he saw two shadows growing.

"You can turn around now, Millard" He heard Miss Peregrine say and he did as he was told. There was of course Miss Peregrine standing in front of him. Her hair was a little disheveled and she was still pulling on her dress in different places to adjust her dress properly. And then there was also another woman standing right next to the bird. She was way older than his ymbryne. Her hair was as white as snow with a single black strand of hair. Her eyes were shining bright blue and despite her age she looked like a woman that could not easily be fooled. Standing before him was Miss Avocet.

"Alma" She said to Miss Peregrine and smiled brightly. She grabbed the younger ymbryne's hand before continuing. "I don't know how to express my feelings. I am so thankful that you just saved me and I am unbelievably sorry that I was not there to save you and your children. There is no way I can every make it up to you!" Now tears were shining in her eyes and she blinked a couple of times to prevent the tears from falling.

Miss Peregrine nodded sadly. For a couple of minutes no one said a word while they were lost in their own thoughts. But then Miss Peregrine cleared her throat.

"Esmeralda, please, tell me what happened to you. Do you have any idea where my children might be brought to? They have obviously not been handed over to the authorities." The bird explained and sighed.

Miss Avocet nodded. "I know. I arrived at the island the moment your children were escorted to the ferry. I decided to follow them to the mainland. I observed how they were led to cars and how then drove off. I was not able to follow them but I was able to hear where they are being taken to. After that I was captured by this foolish child after being attack with a brick in a moment of inattention."

Miss Peregrine frowned. "Please, Esmeralda, where are they being brought to?"

Miss Avocet sighed. "London"

Miss Peregrine frowned. "London? Why London?"

"They found out about the children's peculiarity. Upon their arrival on the mainland one of your girls tried to free them by growing some admittedly frightening plants but they were still caught. I fear they might try to sell them." Miss Avocet turned away and started pacing.

"Then we have to get to London as fast as we can" Miss Peregrine said. Miss Avocet started to mumble under her breath in panic. "Esmeralda? Esmeralda!"

Miss Avocet turned around again. "We need to go!" She nodded. The younger ymbryne was right. They had to get to London as fast as they could.

"If we fly we can be there in five hours" Miss Avocet said.

Millard looked from one ymbryne to the other. "What about me, Miss?"

Alma nodded. "Don't worry, Millard. I'll not let you alone. I'll not leave you behind."

"Alma, how about if I look after your boy. You can fly a lot faster than I. If you don't have to wait for me you may find them a lot quicker. We will take the train and we meet in London again." Miss Avocet suggested and smiled. "Don't worry Alma. I will protect him"


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello everybody! This story is slowly coming to its end, I think there will be one or two more chapters. Thank you for sticking with me so far!**

Miss Peregrine spread her wings and flew off as fast as she could. The sun had already gone down and the last rays of sunlight illuminated the beautiful landscape beneath her. Alma flapped her wings a couple of times more to increase her speed. She had no time to admire the nature flying by beneath her. She had to concentrate on her aim. She needed to get her children back!

After an hour Alma was already exhausted. Every flap of her wings hurt and she could feel the stitches Enoch had given her tear open. She could feel how her feathers stuck together because of the leaking and quickly drying blood from her wounds. Miss Peregrine whimpered quickly. London was still very far away.

After two and a half hours Miss Peregrine desperately needed to take a break. Carefully she landed of the branch of a high tree. She was so tired. But she mustn't fall asleep! ' _Stay awake, Alma!_ ' She told herself and flew off into the night again. It was already shortly before midnight when the bright lights of the city attracted her attention. Finally! Seeing her aim so clearly gave her new strength and within half an hour she landed on the roof of a high building, well hidden beneath a chimney. Exhausted she contemplated what to do. She could hardly move and keep her eyes open. She wanted nothing more than to put her head underneath her wing and nap for a couple of minutes. Well, that was only half true to be honest. More than that she wanted to find her children. Suddenly Alma felt guilty and selfish for wanting to sleep when her children were probably in danger. But she didn't know where to look for her children and being completely exhausted she was no use to them either. That was why in the end Alma decided to grant herself some sleep.

The first sunrays were already illuminating the city of London when Alma opened her eyes once more. The light showed the horrible destructions that the war had caused. Alma flew off into the air and looked around. Where could her children be taken? She considered flying to the authorities but quickly dismissed this thought. When they were trying to sell children they would try their best to stay away from officials as far as they could.

Miss Peregrine started to fly over different parts of the city trying to find out where her children might be. Suddenly she had a thought and for a moment she was so distracted that she almost bumped into a chimney. Maybe she didn't need to know where the men from the island where selling the children but where the buyer would bring the children to. There was a large group of peculiars out there that was only looking for an opportunity like that. If she was lucky her children were confronted with one of those bastards because at least Miss Peregrine then knew where to look. The punishment loop.

Miss Peregrine decided to settle for this idea hoping that Esmeralda and Millard did not have the same thought and were instead searching the city for the lost peculiar children. Thankfully Alma knew all entrances of the loops in London. Currently there were several loops of ymbrynes all over the city but there was only one punishment loop. Alma chose a save and hidden place near the entrance where she could observe everything that was going on without being seen by herself.

Internally Alma prepared for a long wait but only half an hour later she saw a small group approaching the entrance. Even for her falcon eyes they were still too far away to see who was coming closer but the noises made especially by two members of the group gave away that they were her children. Alma breathed relieved. Then she realized that the noises she heard were the twins that where cawing in fear and maybe even pain. Immediately Alma felt beyond angry. No one hurt her children! And it was time to prove it.


End file.
